Giuseppe Morello

Giuseppe "Piddu" Morello (2 May 1867-15 August 1930) was the first boss of the Morello crime family of New York City, making him one of the first American Mafia bosses. Morello led the family in Harlem, and Morello's family would fight against the rival Camorra of Brooklyn during the 1910s. While he was in jail, his lieutenants Joe Masseria and Salvatore D'Aquila fought over control of the family, and Masseria became the new boss with Morello as consigliere. Morello was murdered by Salvatore Maranzano in 1930.

Biography
Giuseppe Morello was born on 2 May 1867 in Corleone, Sicily, the half-brother of Nicholas Terranova and Vincenzo Terranova. He ran a counterfeiting ring in Corleone, and he fled to the United States to escape murder charges in 1892. Morello became the boss of a street gang in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, and he became known as "boss of bosses" due to the immense power of his organization. In 1910, Morello was arrested for murder, and his lieutenants Joe Masseria and Salvatore D'Aquila fought for control of the family. Morello's gang went to war with the Camorra while he was in prison, and he was released from prison in 1920, a year after the Camorra was destroyed. However, D'Aquila founded his own family, and he attempted to murder Morello and Masseria several times. Eventually, the apprentice became the master, and Masseria became the boss with Morello as his consigliere. In 1928, the Morellos whacked D'Aquila, and they went to war with Brooklyn mob boss Salvatore Maranzano a year later. Morello was a major leader of Masseria's faction, serving as his "war chief". On 15 August 1930, he was murdered by Sebastiano Domingo, better known as "Buster from Chicago", while collecting cash from his Harlem office.